The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to 50 wins this season, but it came at the expense of Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing both leaving early.
Tucker was removed in the second inning, and Rushing came out when the bottom of the third began. Though in both cases, the Dodgers believe they escaped a serious injury.
Dodgers injuries
Kyle Tucker
After Tucker drew a walk in his first plate appearance of the game, he was hunched over and went into a crouch upon running to second base on Tommy Edman’s single. Tucker jogged off the field and was shown on the SportsNet LA broadcast speaking with Dodgers hitting coaches Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates, not a trainer.
The Dodgers announced shortly after he was removed due to lower back spasms.
“Back spasmed up right when we took the field,” manager Dave Roberts revealed on SportsNet LA after the 2-1 win. “I saw him take his at-bat, saw a little bit of wincing and kind of when he was jogging down to first base. Once he got to second base, I think it was just more of not seeing him move the right way and didn’t want to put him in any more jeopardy.
“So I thought it was just smart to pivot right there.”
Roberts added the Dodgers are not “overly concerned” with Tucker’s back trouble.
Tucker said he hoped the back spasm would “calm down” or “go away” after he first felt it upon taking the field in the bottom of the first inning. He recalled having a prior experience with a similar issue “a couple years ago,” but noted in that case he experienced ongoing spasms.
Whereas at Target Field, Tucker explained he felt just the initial spasm that eventually gave way to more general soreness. He specifically was having trouble with rotation on throws and swinging a bat.
As of Monday night, there was not an expectation for Tucker to have an MRI on his back. This instance also is the first time he’s dealt with spasms this season.
Dalton Rushing
The likely reason for Rushing’s early exit was much more clear as Will Klein’s first pitch in the bottom of the first inning was fouled off the catcher’s mask. The Dodgers later announced Rushing had been removed in order to be evaluated for a potential concussion.
“He’s doing well. He passed that protocol test, but I guess you’ve got to do it again in 24 hours,” Roberts said. “So tomorrow we’ll do the same thing. I would say it’s pretty unlikely he’ll be in there tomorrow, just to give him another day. … “It squared him up and he was a little groggy. On the bench, talking to the training staff, they recommended to me that it was probably best we get him out.”
The Dodgers plan to have a catcher on their taxi squad Tuesday, but Roberts remarked he wasn’t sure which player that would be. Eliezer Alfonzo and Griffin Lockwood-Powell are with Triple-A Oklahoma City, but neither is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.
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